MUSIC REVIEW: BUSDRIVER - 'BEAUS$EROS'
Alternative Rap with Surreal Hooks & Hyper-Literate Breaks
(Fake Four Inc) A lot is happening on Beaus$Eros – studio album-proper number seven from Regan John Farquhar, aka Busdriver. Since his storming 1999 debut, Memoirs of the Elephant Man, Busdriver has developed a habit of leaning against the borders of expectation. With varying degrees of warmth, each project has been received with a definite academic awareness, if not always the street appeal that may have been expected. Having started rapping at the age of nine, there’s an element of the racehorse about Busdriver. He was born and bred simply to rap and experiment in hip hop. His technical knowledge of wordplay, internal rhyme, and rhythmic hook is as much a part of him as sinew and muscle on any purebred beast.
Perhaps because he knows the game inside out, Farquhar often passes tracks through a deconstructive process to present cubist versions of his stream of consciousness. The jagged lines between form and content can become uber-hooked, twisted, and surreal. At times, this approach has worked against the artist; on other occasions, as with this collection, the results are decent, refreshing, and strong. Not so much rapping here – more singing and sometimes crooning. Calling Busdriver ‘rap’ on this release is similar to calling Björk ‘pop.’
Beaus$Eros may also represent a significant departure in terms of production. Belgian producing star in the asendancy, Loden takes to the booth, but he doesn’t remain there; instead, this feels as much collaboration as it does a man simply capturing sounds. Loden influences and co-writes much of what’s on offer, so the sharper elements of Busdriver’s cubism takes on a rounder, more welcoming, almost pop vibe, and it’s a touch that really works. The collection is populated with so many points of easy access that even the most obscure passages, or confrontational moods, present peculiar sing/chant-along opportunities. “NoBlacksNoJewsNoAsians" is one of those moments. Ugly, disjointed truths are cemented together, lyrically and instrumentally, and result in a track of unusual, unexpected beauty.
There are tracks that deal explicitly with the ideas of manipulation -- emotional, political, artistic, or otherwise. “Utilitarian Uses of Love” is a rolling, tinkling track with bouncing yet smooth synth work that sounds more like laughter than anger at what unfolds. Farquhar enters into a catalog of definitions which express the methods of gaining what our egos want. This all breaks down as his brain divided and begins to debate itself over acceptable or inappropriate behaviors. When dissected, it’s a track that can be taken very seriously; when turned up loud, it’s a track that can take all feet straight to the dance floor.
There’s so much dynamic here – there is so much body and so many exploratory avenues, the mix can be almost too much at times. Within a single song, a lyric can be sung, rapped, spoken, whispered, and screamed – all angles from the same focal point. The resulting effect sounds like a statement against the formula of modern hip hop, as if this is a launch pad, not just for the development of Busdriver but also for the genre that he loves. “Feelings” is one of those tracks that will endure in many forms for a very long time. It begs remix; it plays into the perception as the kind of drug you want more of, even if the results have never before been monitored. The cackling laughter only serves to unhinge the swinging progress. It’s fantastic.
Standout Tracks: “Utilitarian Uses of Love,” “NoBlacksNoJewsNoAsians,” “Colour Wheel”
For Fans Of: TV On The Radio, SBTRKT, Radiohead, Björk
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